Once you have a general topic, you can develop it by using a chart technique explained in the next section.

If you have a general topic...

Sometimes you already have a broad topic, such as
"Animal Behavior" or "America in the 1920s."

These are too general; there is too much information. Using the chart technique will help to focus your topic.

Developing a topic...

You can immediately start using a chart to develop your topic, but usually it's worth scanning an encyclopedia or book to pick up keywords and important ideas, people, dates, etc. The more ideas you can put in the chart, the easier it will be to select a topic.